How Many People Are on Ozempic? [Updated April 2025]

Research highlights:

How many Americans have tried GLP-1 drugs?

• 31.9 million Americans have tried GLP-1 drugs.

What percentage of Americans have tried GLP-1 drugs?

• 12.5% of American adults have tried a GLP-1 drug.

1 in 8 American adults have tried a GLP-1 drug like Ozempic — that’s roughly 32 million people. The GLP-1 adoption rate is rising fast, pointing to a major shift in how the U.S. manages weight loss and chronic conditions. Keep reading to explore who’s driving this trend and what it means for the future.

How many people take Ozempic?

Let’s analyze the current usage of GLP-1 drugs, including Ozempic in particular.

First of all, let’s see how many Americans are currently using GLP-1 drugs:

How many people are on GLP-1 drugs?

• 15.3 million American adults are currently using a GLP-1 drug.

What is the percentage of Americans on GLP-1?

• 6% of American adults are currently on a GLP-1 drug.

GLP-1 usage purposes

Most GLP-1 users (62%) are taking these drugs, at least in part, to lose weight. For us, it’s a strong signal that weight management has become the primary driver of adoption, even when not the official purpose.

Now that we have a clear view of how widespread GLP-1 has become. But to understand the full picture, it’s crucial to look beyond the category and into the specifics. Ozempic, a leading brand in the U.S., plays a central role in this trend. To move forward with our research, we need to dig into the numbers behind Ozempic itself, so let’s do it.

How many Americans are on Ozempic?

• An estimated 5.2 million American adults are currently on Ozempic.

What is the percentage of Americans on Ozempic?

• 2% of American adults are currently on Ozempic.

Now, we can estimate how many Americans are using Ozempic to lose weight:

How many people are using ozempic for weight loss?

• 1.3 million American adults are currently using Ozempic for weight loss.

How many Americans are currently using Ozempic to manage type 2 diabetes?

• 3.9 million American adults are currently using Ozempic to manage type 2 diabetes.

The fact that 1.3 million Americans are using Ozempic for weight loss without FDA approval poses many concerns for athletes, coaches, and anyone in the training and fitness world.

It suggests that as a nation, we’re relying upon drugs rather than a lifestyle approach of training, planned nutrition, and sport. Our educational initiative advocates exercise and fitness, especially Olympic weightlifting. We see a strong need and opportunity to promote strength, fitness, and metabolic health further.

Cost and coverage concerns of GLP-1 drugs

• 61% of Americans believe Medicare should cover the cost of GLP-1 drugs.
• 54% of GLP-1 users say the drugs are hard to afford.
• Even with insurance, 53% of GLP-1 users struggle to cover the cost.
• 22% of users say paying for GLP-1 drugs is “very difficult.”

The cost and coverage data adds a powerful layer to the story: more than 6,000,000 people are stretching their budgets to afford GLP-1 drugs to lose weight. This reveals a population highly motivated to lose weight or manage chronic conditions, even without consistent insurance support. It’s a wake-up call for us, as the fitness and weightlifting community: People are already willing to pay 25 times more for a drug than for a gym membership or an educational program. That same determination could be harnessed through training, offering a more empowering and lasting approach to health.

GLP-1 usage growth and adoption

• GLP-1 drug use has surged by 700% since 2019.
• Every week, 25,000 more Americans begin using GLP-1 drugs.

While we don’t have the nationwide statistics, let’s take a look at the dynamics of GLP-1 drug adoption in California:

While GLP-1 drugs overall are rising fast, the California data reveals a quiet shift in dominance: Ozempic is not just growing—it’s overtaking older options like Trulicity, despite entering the market later. By 2022, Ozempic surpassed Trulicity in users, and projections show it widening the gap even more by 2025. This trend suggests that users and prescribers are actively replacing legacy GLP-1s with newer, more effective ones.

Interest in GLP-1 medications by state:

• New York has the highest interest in GLP-1 drugs in the United States, with 159.39 searches per 100,000 residents
• Mississippi has the lowest interest in GLP-1 drugs in the United States with 33.27 searches per 100,000 residents

GLP-1 Usage by Race

• White Americans have the highest GLP-1 drug adoption rate at 8.35%.
• Asian Americans have the lowest adoption rate of GLP-1 drugs, at just 4.5%.
• Hispanic adults show a GLP-1 adoption rate of 7.7%.
• The adoption rate among Black Americans stands at 7.42%

Conclusions

• The fitness industry stands to capitalize on this previously hidden drive for transformation: over 6 million people are spending up to 25 times more for GLP-1 drugs than they would for gym memberships or coaching, even when they cannot afford it.
• With GLP-1 use skyrocketing, especially non-FDA approved injections for weight loss, it becomes clear that people want to change; they just don’t have access to safe, vetted, and directed options for fitness.
• As newer GLP-1s like Ozempic rapidly replace older drugs, the fitness and weightlifting world must also evolve and present modern, science-backed programs that compete in relevance and perceived effectiveness.

Research methodology

Using KFF’s May 2024 poll showing that 12.5% of U.S. adults have tried a GLP-1 drug, we estimate the total number by applying this percentage to the U.S. adult population based on Census data. The same calculation was made for current usage stats.

Using the 34.17% market share for Ozempic from Grand View Research and the calculated number of GLP-1 users in the U.S., we estimated the number of Americans currently using Ozempic.

Using the total number of Ozempic users and the estimate that 25% use it for weight loss (Komodo Health, 2022), we calculated the number of individuals using Ozempic for weight management.

Sources:

1. KFF. (2024). KFF Health Tracking Poll – May 2024: The public’s use and views of GLP-1 drugs. Retrieved from https://www.kff.org/health-costs/poll-finding/kff-health-tracking-poll-may-2024-the-publics-use-and-views-of-glp-1-drugs/
2. Grand View Research. (n.d.). GLP-1 receptor agonist market size, share & trends analysis report. Retrieved April 18, 2025, from https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/glp-1-receptor-agonist-market
3. TrackDrugs. (n.d.). Ozempic statistics: Trends and usage. Retrieved April 18, 2025, from https://trackdrugs.com/ozempic-statistics
4. Komodo Health. (2023). Prescriptions for trendy diabetes and weight loss drugs increased over 2000% since 2019. Retrieved from https://www.komodohealth.com/perspectives/prescriptions-for-trendy-diabetes-and-weight-loss-drugs-increased-over-2000-since-2019
5. U.S. National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). GLP-1 therapies and emerging treatment pathways. PubMed Central. Retrieved from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/mid/NIHMS1805081/